Scissors and Guitars
by invisiblemirage
Summary: Set after Drake and Josh and Victorious. Jade's been kicked out. Drake needs a new roommate so he can make rent. An unlikely pair, they move in together. Jade is 22, Drake is 26. Just a collection of one shots based on this scenario. Chapters won't be chronological. I do accept prompts. T just in case. :)


Stray notes from the black Les Paul Classic drifted up into the air as Drake Parker tuned it absentmindedly. Every so often, he glanced up at the clock. The day was moving slowly. He sighed, throwing his guitar pick to the side. He plucked at the strings with his fingertips, once again drowning in a sea of thoughts. He tightened the last string, making sure the note rang out clearly before he began to strum a series of chords. "Well, I never thought that it'd be so simple but, I found a way, I found a way. . ." he sang softly. Sighing, he tossed the guitar to the other side of his bed. Drake dragged his fingers through his hair as he stared at the clock for another few seconds, dreading when it would strike two. He only had a half hour to go.

His attention snapped to the door of the appartment as he heard an abrupt knock. "I'm looking for Drake Parker."

Drake rolled off of his bed. He reached the door rather quickly, opening it to find a slim, rather angry looking young woman standing there. Her hair was dark brown with vividly colored streaks. Her lips were pressed into a thin line. She wore tight, ripped denim jeans and a black tank held together with safety pins. Drake lifted an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Name's Jade West." she answered, pushing him aside to enter the loft. "Nice place. I could get used to this."

"Uhh," Drake interrupted her. "You're Jade West?"

"Do I look like I'd give a fake name? Yes, I'm Jade West. I called you a few days ago about the apartment listing in the paper."

"I just thought you'd be…"

"Different?" she smirked. "Yeah. I get that a lot." Jade took a seat on the couch, looking around the apartment. "It's a bit… male, but I think I can live with that."

"Of course it is. I am a male." Drake answered. "What, did you expect sunshine and bunnies?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Drake rethought that comment and rolled his eyes. "Forget that. Thing is, I don't remember offering you the slot in my place."

Jade gave him an even stare. "Of course you did. You asked me if I was hot, and I said yes. I distinctly remember that. You then followed it up with 'Okay, stop by Saturday. If you like the place you can live here.' Re-mem-ber?"

"I changed my mind." Drake responded. Her goth-punk-early-Avril-Lavigne-wannabe look and harsh attitude was getting under his skin. He wanted her to leave. "Get out, you're not living here."

"Oh, I think I am." Jade's tone was cool. "Face it. You're a down on your luck musician, and not a good one at that. You wasted your money too quickly, and without me, you won't make rent and you'll have to move in with your parents. You're twenty six years old, you wouldn't like that very much, would you?" She looked to her left, to the bedroom with a view. "I think that room will do quite nicely."

"No, what the hell." Drake glared at her. "That one's mine. You get the other room by the kitchen door."

"So I can stay?" she grinned, knowing she won. "My stuff is in my truck."

"I don't- no!" She reminded him too much of his sister. He knew they would get along just fine if they had ever met. They shared the same cold attitude and clear love of evil. "Can you just go back to wherever you came from?"

Jade stood back up, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, despite his protests. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen well. I graduated college this morning. Know what my gift was? I got kicked out. Told I had better find a place by graduation day or I'd be sleeping in the streets. Like it or not, I live here now. Got that?" she released his shirt, letting him go.

"Okay, okay." Drake smoothed out his shirt, suddenly feeling like a captor in his own apartment. "You can stay. Just no more grabbing me."

Jade gave a wicked smirk. "No promises."

Drake's gaze lingered on the girl. She was hot, as promised, but something about him scared her. She seemed a little too intense, a little off, a little… freaky. He wondered if he'd get used to it. "Rent's due on the first of every month . . . Don't touch the guitars. . . You can do what you want, just don't bother me."

"Sounds fair." Jade nodded. "I have a few as well. You go in my room, you take my truck, or you mess with me in any way, and you'll learn first hand how the victims felt in The Scissoring."

"The Scissoring?" Drake repeated. "All right, fine. Good. Fine. Good." he stammered, trying to take it all in. What had he gotten into?

"Lastly," Jade looked him up and down, pursing her lips in distaste. "Don't hit on me. I have a boyfriend. His name is Beck. You'll be seeing a lot of each other." With that, Jade left the room, heading to her truck to get her things.

Drake blinked a few times, completely confused as he tried to take in what had just happened. Jade West was not what he had expected, to say the least. She was opinionated, blunt, stunning, and kind of mean. Drake wasn't about to admit it out loud but she did scare him a little bit. Now, he had to live with this … creature. Man, he missed Josh. He caught himself wishing that his brother hadn't chosen a college so far from the city. He had been much easier to live with.

Life with Jade. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Then again. . . Maybe it would be. Drake made a mental note to find out what The Scissoring actually was. Judging by what he had said, he didn't have a very good feeling about it. He would have to be very, very careful from this day on.


End file.
